


Cherry Wine

by Scumprince



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Age Difference, Alternate Universe - No Upside Down, F/M, Implied Sexual Content, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Implied/Referenced Incest, Rape/Non-con Elements, Sharing a Bed, Step-Sibling Incest
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-14
Updated: 2020-10-06
Packaged: 2021-03-06 19:26:59
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,049
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26460376
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Scumprince/pseuds/Scumprince
Summary: She shifts her gaze to look at him, his green eyes study hers slowly, with purpose. His hands are in her lap holding her own in order to keep them from shaking.He offers her a small, kind smile, and leans in to kiss the swollen skin around her black eye.Bruises were a normal accessory for the Californian siblings; but when he gave them to her, when it was his hands that left the mark, it was different.She had learned two very simple things early on in their relationship.First came Billy’s violence and then came Billy’s love.+It looks ugly, but it’s clean. Oh Mama, don’t fuss over me.
Relationships: Billy Hargrove/Maxine "Max" Mayfield, Billy Hargrove/Original Female Character(s), Maxine "Max" Mayfield/Lucas Sinclair
Comments: 36
Kudos: 54





	1. Sedated

**Author's Note:**

> I NEED TO STOP CREATING NEW SERIES AND NOT FINISHING MY OTHER ONES   
> AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
> 
> IM A USELESS RAT

The first day Max realised her parents were not coming back, was the day she tried to call her Mom about back to school shopping and the number for the resort Susan had given her only returned an engaged signal. 

The moment the idea was solidified in her mind was when she found the letter tucked neatly under her Mother’s pillow.   
Three pages long and full of avoidance, passing the blame, and tiny increments of ‘sorry’.   
  
Abandonment was not a word thrown around often, but this was the situation for the two siblings who suddenly felt a million times smaller in that big beach house in California.   
It was almost frightening how quickly Billy flew into damage control mode, he was on the phone all afternoon calling relatives, anybody that they knew who would take them in, anybody who could possibly help with continuing to pay the mortgage on the house.  
  
By the end of the day, Billy was strung out, legs over the couch with a Pabst in his hand. “Max. Pack your shit.”   
  
“Where are we going?” She asks, climbing onto the couch.   
  
He sighs deeply, puts his beer on the floor and reaches for the notepad on the coffee table. “Hawkins Indiana.”   
  
_Indiana? That was on the other side of the states._ “Who do we know in Indiana?” Max questions, wrapping her arms around her body.   
  
He sits up and adjusts himself, taking a mouthful of his beer. “Aunt Gladys. She’s my Dad’s sister.” He chuckles slightly. “To say she was surprised he up and left us behind is an understatement. She said if we can make it from A to B without getting ourselves killed, she’ll take us in.”   
  
“What about school?” Max watches her brother stand up and stretch.   
  
“My Dad turned out to be a giant piece of shit stuck in an office job, but his sister ended up Principal at the middle school. Good old Gladys is going to sort it out.” He tells her to pack her stuff while he would go out and find a way to get enough money to fund their trip across the beautiful US of A.

She waited on the couch for a while, staring at the switched off television, and silently cried.   
How could somebody leave their child behind? 

*****

They stare at the money pooled on the kitchen counter. Billy’s way to get funds for their trip was simple, _sell everything that wasn’t bottled to the ground_. 

A large portion of this included their parents prized possessions that they probably assumed would be left behind if they ever attempted to come back to the house.   
  
Max had never seen so much money before in her life, and was slightly surprised by how her brother had managed to get so much money in under three days.   
He had given her the job of packing their things and he would do the nitty gritty side of everything, making sure the Camaro was well serviced and would be capable of making the thirty-three hour trip. The kids had both agreed, that by moving to Hawkins’ they would leave their entire life in California behind, that included getting rid of everything that wasn’t important or that didn’t hold some form of sentimental value.   
Max was left with a small brief case of her things, and Billy had one single photograph. A picture of his Mom.   
  
They managed to fit all of their clothes into the boot of the Camaro and threw two pillows and a blanket into the back seat incase they couldn’t find a motel during their travels.   
  
After Billy bought all of their bare necessities and a new tool kit, there was just over $15,000 left over.   
  
“I didn’t realise everything in here was worth that much.” Max admits.   
  
“Yeah, well.” Billy starts to grab the money and puts it all into a tin with a lock on the front. “I guess Susan and Neil had nice shit.” He grabs the tin and stares down at his sister, “Didn’t leave anything behind”   
  
She shakes her head and he moves past her. “Say goodbye to California, shit bird.”   
  
They both climb into the Camaro and Billy starts the car up and lights a cigarette. “How long till school starts?”   
  
“Three weeks.” She answers. “We want to leave a week before so we can both enrol.”   
  
He nods, blowing smoke out the window. “Its a day and a half to get to Indiana, isn’t it?”   
  
“Yeah.”   
  
“Let’s go on a holiday Max. If we’re trekking across this great country, let's make the fucking best of it.” And with that, he peels out of the driveway and towards the highway leading out of California.

*****

They hit Las Vegas first, and Max was blown away by the bright lights, they hit a lot of traffic on the way through so the normal four hours turned into five and a half and Billy was getting agitated by all of the shit drivers on the road, flipping the bird more often than not. Every so often, she drifted in and out of sleep.   
  
Billy pulls into a motel, he had to admit he made the wrong decision by leaving in mid afternoon instead of early morning but it didn’t matter, because they weren’t on a time limit. The motel flashes a bright sign that reads _STARDUST_.   
Max watches the lights as they pull into the parking lot, and she follows Billy inside the reception area watching as the _Vacancy_ sign swings by the door.   
  
“Can I get a room for the night, please.” Billy flashes a pearly smile at the middle aged woman behind the desk.   
  
“Sure thing, sweet pea’.” She looks around Billy and takes Max in who tries to smile at her.   
  
“One bed?”   
  
“Two.”   
  
“I need your ID, suga’.” She bats her eyes at the Hargrove teen who hands it over in a flash.   
  
After writing a few things in a book, and tapping something into her computer, she leans across the desk and plucks a key from the holder and hands it to Billy.   
  
“Room 34 is available. It has two bedrooms. Check out is 10am.”   
  
Billy takes the key and drops it into Max’s hand. “Thanks-” He catches her name tag, “Darla. Have a good night.”   
  
“Welcome to Stardust, sweetheart.”   
  
The room was nice, Max had only ever stayed in a hotel room once, and it was during their trip to the Grand Canyon. She wondered how many rooms she would be staying in as they crept slowly across the country to Indiana.   
She drops her knapsack by her bed and Billy walks into the second room and she can hear the bed springs creak as he flops down onto the bed.   
  
It was so strange being in this motel room with Billy, without their parents and she wondered if they missed her as much as she missed them.  
Surely there was something wrong with missing the people who had left you behind, but she couldn’t help it. She couldn’t stop feeling a longing for her Mom.   
  
“Do you want to shower first, or can I?”   
  
“You can.” She whispers.   
  
He ducks into the bathroom and locks the door, Billy spent forever in the bathroom which would normally infuriate Max, but right now it was a silent blessing because she could go out and get some air.   
She sits patently and doesn’t move until the shower water begins to run before she walks slowly into Billy’s room and grabs his packet of Lucky Strikes, and leaves the motel room.   
She walks across the carpark and stands under the motel sign and lights herself a cigarette. She didn’t smoke often, when she did, it was never around her parents. That didn’t matter much anymore though.   
  
She watches the road as all of the cars hurtle past her on their own little trips.   
She had never been to Vegas before, but she knew it was the “city of sin” as Neil had so fondly described it. Billy had visited it once, a few months ago, but she doesn’t know if he actually did anything while he was here.   
  
She drops the cigarette in the dirt and crushes it under her shoe before heading back into the room, the shower is still running, so Max returns Billy’s cigarettes and falls back onto her bed, staring at the ceiling. It was so strange to her that her entire life could be turned completely upside down in a matter of days.   
  
Her older brother exits the bathroom, a towel around his waist and nods his head slightly telling Max to climb into the shower and clean herself up. She pulls all of her weight off of the bed and slumps into the bathroom, locking the door behind her.

*****

He could hear her crying, he doesn’t think she was even trying to be quiet about it either. Billy had been left behind before, so he knew what it felt like to be forgotten, but he also knew that Max had never felt like that before. Worse thing to happen in her life was her parents divorce, but it was so long ago she probably doesn’t even remember it.   
  
He’s got the sheet pulled up and around his legs, arm behind his head as he watches the small ceiling fan spin in slow circles, creaking every time it makes a full trip.   
Max climbs out of her bed and shuffles over to Billy’s room, the small glow from the light by the front door illuminates his sister.   
She’s resting her head against his door frame, holding a pillow close to her chest as she cries. Billy never really saw her cry.   
No matter how mean he was to her, she always took it, never shed a tear. She really must be hurting.

It was a silent agreement, Billy lifts the duvet on his bed and Max moved across the small landing and climbed in to the bed with him.   
He wrapped one arm under her to pull her close to him for a hug, his other hand running his fingers through her hair; trying his best to calm her down.   
  
“We don’t need them Max, we don’t need them. Fuck them. We have each other.” He says.   
  
She cries with him for a few hours, occasionally stopping to ask the simplest yet complex of all questions “Why?”   
Billy couldn’t possibly have an answer for her, no real way to explain the situation. He just comforted her the best he could.   
  
She fell asleep sometime around one a.m. and Billy woke her just before check out, scrambling back into the Camaro and not speaking about the previous nights events.   
  
As they drove through Las Vegas with the early morning light on their heels, Max looks at a map. “So, where are we going?” She questions.   
  
“Why are you asking me, shit bird? You figure it out.” He takes his sun glasses out of the glove compartment and slips them on. “I drive, you do the rest. Ain’t that what girls are for?” He asks.   
  
Max scoffs and shakes her head, “that isn’t how it works, Billy.” She grabs her knapsack and reaches into the left side pocket, pulling out a permanent marker. She studies the map and pushes herself back against the passenger seat.  
She thinks about all of the places she never got to visit as a child, or the places Susan promised to take her, and the ones she wished she could go to with her Dad.   
  
She begins to slowly draw out their travel on the road map, and marks the pit stops with big X’s.   
The first stop on the map was something she knew Billy would like, Hoover Dam. He would never openly admit it, but Billy was a bit of a nerd for the Hoover Dam, mainly because of the urban legend that people were actually buried inside, ones who died during construction, Max knew it would at least cheer him up a bit. They would then do an entire 180 and travel down through to Hollywood for the Sunset Strip and the Walk of Fame.   
  
She keeps mapping out their schedule for the next few weeks and pays now mind as Billy pulls into the carpark of a Best Buy. She keeps mapping everything out and after a short while, Billy returns with a bag, before she can question it, he throws it into her lap.   
  
She opens it and inside is a polaroid camera. “What?” There are over 50 film boxes in the bag as well.   
  
“A road trip has to be memorable, Max.” He says, turning the engine on and asking about the first stop. He used every muscle in his body to not smile when she informed him they would be going to the Hoover Dam. He drove with the cacophony of his cassette tapes, and Max’s navigation.   
  
Despite their parents leaving them behind, and the both of them having to completely uproot their lives, this was the happiest Billy had been in a very very long time.

****

They had given up on seperate rooms four days into their trip. There was no point in paying extra for a room that came with a seperate section or two beds when they both just shared the one anyway.   
  
It didn’t matter if she went to sleep first, or if she had the privilege of her very own room, at some point during the night, Max would find her way into Billy’s bed to sleep beside her brother.   
She never mentioned it in the morning and he never asked, they just quickly fell into a rhythm that worked for the both of them.   
They didn’t realise it at first, but it became a cathartic experience. Max soon stopped crying of a night and Billy actually managed to sleep for the first time in years.   
  
This new found routine was almost effortless when a week passed. They had begun to spend more and more time in the Camaro, to save time and make sure they could check out on time, Max would climb into the backseat and get changed out of her pyjamas and into her clothes and would often sleep there during the night, Billy would only ever stop into a motel if he physically couldn’t keep his eyes open.   
  
With Max in charge of the map, Billy would only ever stop to get them something to eat, or to call his Aunty to keep her updated on their travels, but he ended up passing that chore onto her. He hated the way their Aunt tended to talk utter nonsense and always want to waffle on about shit that didn’t matter.   
  
They pull into the Rosebud motel in Loveland, Colorado. Max wanted to visit because she thought the town name was interesting, but that’s all it was. A name. She was slightly disappointed, but didn’t vocalise it because there was no point in complaining about a town they would leave in the early hours of the following morning.   
  
Max makes quick work by using the shower to clean herself up, and pulls on her pyjamas. In truth, she had borrowed them from Billy, because her warmer ones were at the very back of the Camaro’s trunk and Billy had already told her there was no fucking way he would pull out all of her shit because she can’t pack properly.   
Billy was siting on one of the kitchen chairs, sipping whiskey, his eyes watching Max closely as she keeps pulling up the pyjama bottoms, they don’t fit too well, even if she had adjusted the draw string as tight as it would possibly go.   
  
“Max.” He says, she turns to look at him. “Come drink with me.” She pads across the room and slips into one of the seats across from her brother, he pushes the whiskey bottle over to her and she grabs it in her small hand.

“Are you being serious?” She asks, looking from the brown liquid to her brother.

“Yes.”

The glass touches her lips and the liquid burns like fire on the way down, she coughs and hands the bottle back to Billy who chuckles. “Don’t worry, it gets easier.” He turns the volume dial on the small radio and music erupts into the small room. “Everything gets easier after the first burn.”

She knew he wasn’t talking about the whiskey now, but she pretended he was.

They pass the bottle between one another and share the occasional cigarette, everything felt so adult to Max, so mature. Billy tells her vulgar jokes and she tells him about the time she went away to camp and played truth or dare.

Billy explains to her what life was like when it was just Neil and him. Max tells him about all the times her Dad took her fishing.

The song on the radio changes and Max feels warm.

She recognised the instrumental from the last Christmas she spent with her Dad. The smooth voice of Otis Redding encompasses the siblings and Max wants to dance.

Billy stays seated and watched the way her hips sway to the music, so lost in the waves of the whiskey he had shared with her that she can’t focus on anything but the beat.

Her fiery hair fell in tendrils to her taught ass, she looked as though she belonged in one of those paintings she loved so much.

 _These Arms of Mine_ slip out through the speakers of the radio.

_These arms of mine, they are burning. Burning from wanting you._

Billy stands up and walks over to join Max in the middle of the room; she sways softly to the music and watches him.

He places a hand on her waist and matches her rhythm, dancing slowly with her.

Turning her around and pulling her against him, she’s far too sleepy to stop where this is going.   
He grinds into her, a hard task given she’s smaller than him. 

_Come on, come on baby. Just be my little woman. Just be my lover._

Billy slides his hand up Max’s stomach, under her pyjama top. She’s warm and he knows it’s because of the alcohol; she’s getting dizzy but moves to the beat, her body taking her out to sea.

He’s taken the lead and moves her towards the bed, she flops down and stares up at Billy. Her cheeks are flushed and she’s breathing heavy.

She can’t say anything, maybe she’s had too much to drink, feels sick. She thinks she might throw up but Billy doesn’t stop.

He tugs on the draw string, slowly undoing the knot of the PJ bottoms. Max breath hitches and she tries to tell him to stop, but he doesn’t.

“Don’t.”

He keeps going. Perhaps he doesn’t hear her. “Billy.” She tries. “Don’t.”

“It’s just you and me, Max. We’re all we have left.”

The whole world continues to spin and Max feels like she’s spinning with it. Billy pulls her bottoms off by the hem of the ankles.

Her soft eyes bore into him, maybe he was right.

Billy and Max were all they had left.

Is this what people do when they have nobody else?

Nothing made send to her, everything was fuzzy. The hands Billy ran down her body sent shivers up her spine.

“Don’t stress Max, I’ll make everything stop hurting.”

Max closes her eyes, leaves her hands by her side and stops breathing.

*****

She never mentions it, but Billy could tell she was hurting.

He pulls into a pharmacy and gets her a bottle of painkillers and a chocolate milk. She drinks it slowly and watches the scenery as they left Loveland.

Max doesn’t think she would ever come back to this place, not even if she were older. Not even if it would save her life.

Their next stop would be a small place outside of Colorado, apparently Billy had a friend there. They stop at a gas station so he can fuel up and grab cigarettes, Max needs to use the restroom.

Her stomach flips when she sees the blood in her underwear, she doesn’t cry though. She’s never been like that.

She felt a lot different but she knows it was because of the alcohol, she splashes cold water on her face and leaves the bathroom.

Billy is at the counter buying cigarettes and Max is putting coins into the telephone, dialling her aunts number.

“Max!” Gladys was always so chipper whenever she called. “How was Loveland?”

“Not as loving as I originally thought. We stayed in a motel called Rosebud. Very Citizen Kane.” Max mumbles into the receiver.

“I’m sure it wasn’t that bad, sweetheart.”

_“It’s just you and me Max, we’re all we have left.”_

She shakes the memory and looks out the gas station window, Billy is leaning against the Camaro, fucking around with the Polaroid he had bought her.

“We’re gonna be in Hawkins by the end of this week, Billy is sick of driving.” Max says. “We’ll see you sooner than expected.”

“That’s good to hear sweet girl! I have everything set up for you and Billy to start school when the summer ends.”

“Yeah.” It’s a statement rather than an answer.

There’s a silence that no amount of talking could fill.

“Has my Mom called?”

“No sweetie.”

She puts the receiver on the hook without even saying goodbye.

Billy is pointing the viewfinder at her and snaps a photo while she walks over to the car. The picture rolls out of the tray and he takes it, shaking it in the Summer air.

“How’s Gladys?” He asks, looking at the picture.

“She has everything ready for us, we can start school when the Summer is over.

“Hold the applause.” His sarcasm wasn’t lost on her. She takes notice of the way he pushes the Polaroid into his back Jean pocket. “Let’s ride, shit bird.”

She clambers into the car, and they say goodbye to Loveland and the stained bedsheets of the Rosebud motel where Max lost the last pieces of herself.


	2. Some Kind of Wonderful

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She smiles proudly at him, using her arms to push away from him a little, it was rare that Billy told her she had done something correctly, but when he did give her the validation she knew she deserved, it instantly shot her to cloud nine. He follows her in the water, in similar fashion to driftwood, following her current. 
> 
> She lets herself go, kicks up from the bottom of the lake, so she’s floating. Arms extended out like Jesus on the cross, legs loosely together and she lets the water follow its own rhythm. She opens her eyes slowly, blinking away the mid afternoon sun and watches Billy carefully, who is still trending water close to her. She doesn’t say anything though, dares not disturb him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been reading a lot about co dependancy and I am trying so hard to try and incorporate that in here, so I hope I am doing it justice LOL

She pushes the car lighter in so it has time to heat up and takes two cigarettes from the Lucky Strikes pack, putting both butt ends into her mouth making sure to wind the car window up as quick as possible. She has it closed when the lighter pops back out, taking it to the ends of the cigarettes, she puffs quickly to light them both at the same time.  
She puts the lighter back in its place and pushes one of the lit cigarettes into Billy’s mouth who takes it while keeping his eyes on the road.

She takes a long drag of her own, Billy had let her smoke in his presence back in Loveland, when they had spent the night drinking, everything seemed so different between the two as they hurled down the highway, no others cars around for miles; there was something adult that came with smoking a cigarette in the front passenger side of a car, no adults for hundreds of miles, no parents to worry about.

They had made no mention of the incident at the Rosebud motel, and Max thought they would never speak of it, a small secret tucked in the boot of the Camaro, never to be bought out under any circumstances. 

“What do you think Hawkins will be like?” Max asks, shifting in the seat.  
  
“Bunch of backward hicks.” Billy answers, shifting into fourth gear. “Small towns breed weirdos.”

Max yawns, stretching out her limbs as much as she can before taking a drag of her cigarette, “Do you really think it’s gonna be that bad? There might even be a basketball team for you.”

“Max I don’t want to be on a team with a bunch of lanky faggots that aren’t worth my pot to piss in. I don’t even want to be in Hawkins at all.” He says, making a point to ash his cigarette at the last few words. 

“I just hope they have a good arcade.”

Reaching into the glove compartment, she pulls out the map and looks at it, they’d basically covered everything in the few short weeks they’d been on the road, there wasn’t anything left to do, except travel the rest of the way to Indiana.  
She had enjoyed the trip for the most part, a shoebox full of polaroids and a head full of memories, she’d done so much travelling in this one month than she had her entire life.

“It’s hot today.” Max says. “Do you wanna go to a beach maybe?” She checks her watch. “It’s only just passed lunch.”

“Is there one close by?”  
  
“There’s no beach but there's a place called Sooner Lake near Red Rock. If we take route 177 we should be there in just over an hour.” She says, folding the map back and putting into its original place.  
  
One thing that Billy loved about Max is that she was always a good navigator, he never had to correct her or second guess the things she said, she always knew exactly what was going on and exactly what to say and he loved how simplistic driving with her was.  
They pulled up to the gravel of Sooner Lake around the time frame Max had given and both siblings clambered out of the car. There wasn’t anyone around and Max wondered if they had managed to pull around to a quieter part of lake.  
  
Neither of them bothered to change into swimsuits, Max wasn’t even sure they had packed any; it wasn’t like they were intending to do any swimming in Hawkins, so they opted for peeling out of their outwear and just swimming in their underwear.  
  
The water was just perfect, not too cold and not too warm, Max loved the water. Susan often called her a water baby, she couldn’t get enough of it.  
She especially loved the way the water made her weightless, almost like all of the menial issues in her small life melted away and all that was left was her and the water.

She knew Billy felt the same way, anytime he was in the water, he was an entirely different person. He would sink beneath the waves back in California and emerge reborn, happier, not filled with so much anger.  
  
They’re a few feet away from each other, both treading water and watching the other.

“It feels great, doesn’t it?” Max calls out and Billy’s only response is to nod before sinking beneath the quiet water and resurface inches from his little sister’s face.

“Good choice.” He commends her.

She smiles proudly at him, using her arms to push away from him a little, it was rare that Billy told her she had done something correctly, but when he did give her the validation she knew she deserved, it instantly shot her to cloud nine.  
He follows her in the water, in similar fashion to driftwood, following her current.

She lets herself go, kicks up from the bottom of the lake, so she’s floating. Arms extended out like Jesus on the cross, legs loosely together and she lets the water follow its own rhythm.  
She opens her eyes slowly, blinking away the mid afternoon sun and watches Billy carefully, who is still trending water close to her. She doesn’t say anything though, dares not disturb him.  
  
He lets his feet touch the bottom, stands up and makes his way to his sister, he doesn’t do anything at first, but cups her face in his hand, she doesn’t move much, only to let her breathing pick up.  
He traces her lips with his thumb and bends down, wet lips meeting hers and she doesn’t fight it. This is different than back in Loveland, he’s softer, more transparent.  
  
If anyone were to look at them from the distance of the car, it would like in similar fashion to CPR, Billy lifts his head and looks at her. Lost entirely in her eyes that match the colour of the lake.

“Billy?” She stops floating and gets herself up right.

She was so confused by all of it, caught up in what was right and what was wrong about everything they were doing, about everything that had transpired. When had they truly crossed the line?  
Surely it wasn’t back in the small room of the Rosebud motel, no, _when_ did they overstep the boundaries set in place by there parents. When did siblings just stop being that?  
  
Was she to blame for the night she crawled into his arms so far gone in her own grief of being abandoned that she only sought out the arms of a familiar rather than keeping herself from overstepping that invisible line of right and wrong?

He kisses her again and this time she sinks in to him, wrapping her arms around his neck, his own snaking around her small waist; the weightlessness of her body came in handy, he lifts her slightly and her body moves on its own, she wraps her legs around his waist and leans back slightly as he plants kisses down her neck.  
  
It was so clandestine, how hidden they were from everyone else. This was a vow of silence from both parties, an unspoken bond.  
Max was so lost in how good Billy’s lips felt on her skin, like one thousand volts of electricity shooting through her body, that she didn’t care about any of it anymore. Didn’t care if she wanted him to stop or if it was wrong.

She thinks about their first time, and how ugly it had all felt, maybe it was trekked down to the sickness that came with being whiskey drunk, or the fact that she was so confused by the way Billy made her feel; whatever it was she wanted to be free of it, so that she could get completely lost in the one person that would never leave her.  
  
He nips at her collarbone and she moans loudly, his mouth and tongue making their way down her chest to her bra, he pulls down one of the cups and sucks her small nipple into his mouth, tracing small circles with his tongue and Max’s moan catches in her throat.

He sucks her into him and she instinctively pushes against him with her pelvis, grinding into him; she can feel that he’s hard under the water, his cock pushing into her.  
Her fingers find their way into his hair, he’s in need of a trim but she doesn’t tell him this, only looks down to see how he looks attached to her breast.  
  
“Billy.” Her voice is hoarse but he knows what she needs, already knows what will make her feel better and obliges.  
  
She doesn’t let go of him, and he moves effortlessly under the water, pulling her underwear down enough to allow entrance while he tugs his own boxers down to free himself, he lifts her so he can position himself against her and pulls her down while simultaneously thrusting in; the water certainly helps, but Max is practically coated in her own juices so he slips in with little to no effort, he is painfully aware that it _will not_ be this easy outside of the water.  
She throws her head back and moans loudly he’s worried she’ll attract attention but at this point he is in no position to care, his head drops to the curve in her neck and shoulder and moves in and out of her, burying himself deep inside of her, with very push releasing whatever lake water found its way inside of her upon his initial entrance.  
  
Her body was intoxicating, her small hands pulling his face up so she can kiss him, while he grinds into her under the water. “Billy.” His name dripping from her lips was almost like heroin, so intoxicating it almost pushes him over the edge.

Their entire lives broke away from everything they were used to and now they were completely incased in this vulgar behaviour, something so wrong they would be shunned forever but neither one seemed to care.  
It could almost be pinned entirely against the ignorance of youth, or the increase of sex in all of that Rock ’N’ Roll music but all Billy could care about was how fucking good and how warm his little sisters insides felt.  
  
He was close to the edge and he knew Max was too because she was pulling at him more and more, pushing herself painfully against him, her legs around his waist tightening.  
  
“God, Max, _fuck_.” He grunts and its enough to send her over the edge, she’s cascading around him, his name echoing across the water but he doesn’t care, nothing could make him care, make him stop what he’s doing. He follows her soon after, chasing after her own trip to the sun and back and he spills inside of her, gritting his teeth as to not make any noise, caught up in the spurs of ecstasy.  
  
Its a few minutes before he pulls away from her and adjusts both of their underwear, plants a kiss on the top of her her head and tells her this type of shit cannot happen again.

*****

They do it any chance they can, in the car on a darkened highway. In the motel rooms they rent, sometimes occasionally a public bathroom.  
It always begins and ends in the same way, Billy kissing Max softly, slowly, and then swearing this time will be the last time but it quickly becomes a road trip past time.  
  
It was almost like the two of them became so far from who they were when they left California to who they were now, content with just being with one another.  
Despite the shift in their physical relationship, they still stayed the same. Always bickering, Billy constantly throwing insults Max’s way, Max being so ungodly stubborn.  
  
It was almost like one of those music videos from the bands Billy liked to listen to when he worked out; driving down the stretch of road that almost never ended, smoking cigarettes, stopping occasionally so Billy could fill Max with all of the ounces of love he had left in his body and Max would not have it any other way, she had grown to feel oddly connected to Billy in some way.  
He was the only constant thing she could rely on, she knew that when she closed her eyes to sleep, he would still be there in the bed with her when she opened them. All of her fears of being left behind again being forgotten and left in the smoke of burning rubber from the Camaro when Billy would push 150mph on the open road.

There were no rules, nothing to stick to, no written contract that bound them to a certain way of life.  
They had taken to documenting their travels, their relationships and half of the shoebox of polaroids had been filled with chapters of the things they would do.  
A flash of Billy’s tanned skin, the way Max stretched around the base of his dick, Max as she comes; sometimes the both of them in bed, a cigarette hanging dangerously from Billy’s mouth, Max’s chin resting on his shoulder, their eyes glowing from the bright light of the polaroid’s flash.  
  
Part of her never wanted the trip to end, but she knew they were approaching Hawkins sooner and sooner, and she almost wished they could stay, wished they didn’t have to go back to being Billy and Max, kept apart by a singular word.  
Even though he did things that bothered her, hurt her with his words, she had grown to become attached to him; her skin stitched to his own, one of the same person and she wasn’t sure if she could live without the things they had become.

They stop at the ‘Welcome to Hawkins’ sign and Billy rolls to a stop, turning to look at his sister.

“No matter what, I need you to remember one important thing.”  
  
She nods slowly.

“I know that you’ve started to like Gladys, but you can’t put your trust into anyone else, Max. I am the only person you can rely on now; do you understand?” He questions.

She nods again, “I understand.”

“It’s just you and me Max, it’s always gonna be you and me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, do not forget to give me your thoughts! 
> 
> Again, for those following the Dog Teeth series, the final instalment will be published end of October!
> 
> ALSO: If I was to convert any of my books into an actual published book, would any of you be interested in buying them?


	3. Sunlight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello ~~   
> How are you all feeling lately? I've been trying to squeeze writing into my already hectic schedule, so sorry for the short chapter, but I hope it fills some kind of void!

She pushes the drawer closed and flops down onto the bed, she had finally packed away all of her clothes; all of her belongings left over from their move. Gladys' house was a lot more bigger than Max had originally imagined, Max and Billy each had their own rooms, across the hall from each other while Gladys had her room at the other end of the house close to the laundry.   
  
Her door creaks and Gladys sits on her bed, Max looks at her, smiling softly.   
  
“I know its not much but-”   
  
“Its fine.” Max says.   
  
Her Aunt looks awkward and she looks around the small room before turning back to her niece. “I know that I am not your Mom, and you don’t know much about me, or I you, but I want you to know that I am glad you and your brother are here.” She was a harsh contrast to Neil, softer around the edges.   
Billy had commented on the horrible pattern of the curtains and how she might be some crazy cat lady. Max isn’t so quick to lean on her Aunt because she knew better than that. Neil was angelic during the first six months as well.   
  
“If there is anything you need, let me know.” She leaves, closing the door behind her.   
  
Max knew that she wouldn’t need to rely too much on Gladys, even after their trip, the siblings still had just over $10,000 left. The pair of them only had each other for close to two months, it would be a hard habit to break.   
  
Reaching into her backpack, she pulls out a small photo frame that she had won at an arcade during their trip to Hawkins’. She loved how ugly it was, it was shaped like a porcelain egg with horrible flowers painted across the bottom. It was the size of her palm and sitting behind the plexiglass was a picture of her and Billy. It was her favourite photo of the pair of them.   
  
They are laying on the floor of one of the cheap motels somewhere in Denver, Billy’s hair splayed out, a laugh etched across his face, she’s turned into him, also laughing; Billy was the one who had taken the picture and she remembers the day fondly.  
Billy had rolled them both a joint and taught Max how to shotgun off of the smoke and they shared the J between them.   
They spent the afternoon laughing and coming up with obscure conspiracy theories to try and freak each other out.   
  
_“Reagan is a lizard.” Billy had said, snaking his arms around Max, tickling her ribs. “And he hires prostitutes to eat them.”_

_“That’s not true!” She laughed, pushing his hands away. “You’re such a liar!”_

Max puts the frame on her bed side table and touches Billy’s face with her fingertip, and thinks about their new life in Hawkins’.   
School would start in a few days and all of their time would be swallowed up, she had grown accustomed to the days that only involved the pair of them, adjustment would be difficult but she was ready for anything.   
  


*****  
  


She arches her back, balling the sheets into her fist, catching the moan before it leaves her lips.  
Billy’s tongue swirls over her nipple, he slips his hand under her back, lifting her off of the bed slightly. He grinds against her, pushing into her, her breath hitches every time he moves so he takes to covering her mouth with his hand.  
They had to be quiet, they weren’t alone anymore, so Max couldn’t be as vocal as she used to be. Billy quite liked the practicality of keeping her quiet, he pushes his fingers into her mouth and Max’s tongue brushes across his calloused skin.

Billy was innovative, Max would give him that. After dumping his weights onto the bed, he realised it creaked and immediately drove down to the local milk bar and stole nine milk crates, telling Gladys it was good for his back.   
The truth was, the crates made _no noise,_ so he could go as hard as he wanted and not need to worry about the bed springs of the old frame.   
  
He loved the way she moved with him, her hips matching the pace of his own, they had been doing this almost everyday since the first _real_ time in the lake, but it still threw Billy for a mile how much she _wanted_ it.   
  
She sucks his fingers further into her mouth, breathing heavy as her skin slaps against her brothers.   
“Mmpf.” She groans, he’s bottoming out in her, stopping for a moment to avoid coming too quickly.   
  
“Max.” He mumbles, leaning down and kissing her. “You feel so good.” He stares down at her, her milky skin looks divine in the moonlight.   
Her cheeks are flushed, damp forehead matting her hair down. She’s got one hand curled around the wrist of the fingers in her mouth and the other is clinging to the sheets for dear life.   
  
He takes his fingers out of her mouth and kisses her, beginning to move again, she moans into his open mouth and he swallows it. Starting to pick up pace, he moves back and grips her hips in his hands and really starts to slam into her. She throws her head back, biting the back of her hand. They had done this plenty of times before but it still _hurt_. Billy was so much bigger than Max and she never really adjusted to the girth, just learnt to focus on the pleasure instead of the pain.   
  
“Billy, I’m gonna-”   
He’s proactive about it, falls forward onto his haunches and covers her mouth again with his as he thrusts inside of her. She comes undone beneath him, crying out into his welcoming mouth.  
Billy isn’t far behind her, spilling into her, burying his head into the space of her neck and catches his breath.   
  
Max always felt like she was floating after, as though she could touch the clouds. Billy pulls out, slowly, and Max grunts in discomfort. He falls beside her, panting. “You okay?” He asks.  
  
She rolls onto her side and nods. “Yeah.”   
  
“Gladys told me her schedule, I didn’t even ask.” Billy yawns. “On school days, she leaves at the ass crack of dawn, like 5:30 or something and school starts at 8:30, so that gives us three hours together every morning.”

“That’s nice.” Max’s voice is far away, she’s on the cusp of passing out and Billy lets her go.   
  


*****

Max hadn’t meant too, but she’d accidentally caught the attention of a few boys in her class. It freaked her out, in between the chronic staring, they followed her as well.   
She’s skating on the concrete by the theatre building, she knows they’re watching her from behind the fence. She steals a glance towards them, there’s four of them, she catches sight of a dark skinned boy and she stops skating.   
She reaches into her back pocket and grabs the ‘ _STOP STARING AT ME CREEPS!!_ ’ note she had written in biology and dashes up the stairs, dropping it into the trash and running back into the building.   
  
She didn’t like making waves, in California she only had one friend and was relatively unknown at school; this kind of attention made me her nervous.   
  
She heads to her locker to get her notebook for English class, she only had a few hours left of classes and then she would skate down to the High School and meet up with her brother. The pair would then travel over to the Buy & Save to do grocery shopping.   
They wanted to cause as little a headache for their Aunt as possible, so they had decided to buy their own groceries. Letting them live in her house was enough, they didn’t want to have her buy their food as well.   
  
She carries her skateboard by the trucks and heads to English, wishing the feeling of being watched would go away.   
What was with Hawkins and it’s stalkers?

*****

She rolls to a stop in the carpark of the High School, she kicks her board up and grabs it so she can walk across to the Camaro. She leans against the car and waits for Billy to leave the building.  
He’s wearing his to tight jeans and denim jacket, as he heads down to the car park his attention is diverted to a pair of girls standing by the foot path. Billy saunters over to them, he always walked around like a cat.   
The girl that has his attention is tall, lean, and her hair is perfectly permed, curls sitting nicely around her sweet face.   
Max looks her up and down, she is so put together from the way she smiles at her older brother to the way she holds her books to pull attention to her chest.  
There were girls like her back in California, the types of girls Billy liked.   
Max wasn’t like those girls, wasn’t all prim and proper and shiny. Her eyes follow Billy, who licks his teeth at the girl, smiling at her. He bows his head and shakes it slightly, his blond curls bouncing, he turns and catches Max and stops smiling.  
He touches the girl on the arm, says something to her and walks away. Both of them follow after Billy with their eyes and shoot Max a dirty look, she shoots one back and opens the car door, slipping inside.

“Have a good day at school, shit bird?” He asks, starting the car and pulling out of the car park.

“It was alright, nothing worth complaining about.” She answers. She watches the scenery melt into one colour as they drive into town.

“I joined the basketball team.” Billy says, drumming his fingers against the wheel to the beat of the song on the radio.

“I thought you said that-”  
  
He cuts her off. “Yeah, well, I found a way to make it a bit more fun.” He looks at her, she’s obviously in a bad mood. “Talk to me.”

She tells him that there was nothing worth talking about, and keeps her eyes on the passing trees. “I wanna buy pop tarts.”   
  
“What flavour?”

“Strawberry.” She says. “And maybe chocolate.”

“Easy enough.” He stops at a red light, yawning into his hand.

“Who was that girl you were talking to?” She finally caves, she’s intrigued, she wants to know what he said to her, what she said that made him laugh. Her stomach churns.

“Who? Carol? I don’t know, some slut in my grade.” He doesn’t talk about her with care. “Apparently all of the boys want her, but I think she’s seeing some tool, Tommy Hagan, I think.”

_Some slut._ “Okay.” Is all she can manage.

“Why, are you jealous?” He chuckles.

“No.”

He drives off as the light turns green, and keeps laughing. “Max, little green devil.”

“Billy I am not jealous, I’m not a fucking _princess_.” She warns. “its just.” She stops herself, she feels so weird and out of place trying to talk about it. “She’s kind of like the girls you used to see back in Cali.”

“You think that I would prefer her over you?”

She shrugs.

“Max, I don’t want girls like Carol fucking Perkins, if I wanted girl like her, I could pull them all off a shelf at Claires.” He takes a left and rolls through the main strip of town. “You worry over such pointless crap, shit bird.”

Max wants the world to swallow her whole, she feels so stupid.

“Stress less, little sister. You don’t need to worry about all of those other girls, there’s only one girl I care about and only one person in this shit pit of a world, and that’s you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, tell me how you're feeling!

**Author's Note:**

> Please let me know your thoughts and if you want me to continue this ~~
> 
> If you’re following the Dog Teeth series, we still on the writing train, just need to do a lot of research on court cases L O L


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